Kantar: Windows Phone holds 4% of smartphone market in US, close to 9% in the United Kingdom

According to new data from Kantar Worldpanel, Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform currently has a 4% market share in the United States. In Europe, however, Windows Phone has shown a strong performance gain with nearly a 9% market share. However, in the United States, the share has dropped a little.

In the United States, Android remains at the top of the smartphone food chain with a 51.5% sales share of the smartphone market. Apple’s iOS comes in second place with 42.5% while Microsoft’s Windows Phone drops from 4.6% to 4%. Globally, Windows Phone holds a 8.6% share in Britain and a 9% share in France.

Compared to other smartphone carriers, Verizon remains at the top of the food chain while AT&T remains in the second place spot. Sprint and T-Mobile round off the top four smartphone carriers.

Verizon has also seen the most success in capturing Android and Windows Phone sales. According to the data, 35% of Android and Windows Phone sales came from Verizon, while 17% came from Sprint, 16% from AT&T and 13% from T-Mobile. “When looking at the consumers purchasing from Verizon currently, we see a lot more females and those upgrading from a featurephone to an iOS device compared to other carriers,” the report adds.

With the recently release Nokia Lumia 1020 grabbing headlines for AT&T and the Windows Phone platform, it is because of the low and mid range Lumia smartphones that are driving momentum for the platform. Kantar analyst Dominic Sunnebo believes that Windows Phone needs to get as many smartphones to market as fast as possible.

“While flagship Windows handsets such as the Nokia 925 and HTC 8X grab the headlines, it is the low and mid-range models, such as the Nokia Lumia 520 and 620, which are quietly driving its momentum. It is vital for Windows to be seen as a mainstream alternative to Android and iOS rather than a niche platform. Selling large volumes of lower end smartphones is a good way of getting Windows seen in the hands of potential customers’ friends and family, convincing them there isn’t a risk in choosing the operating system. The majority of people are trend followers, not trend setters, so Windows needs to get as many smartphones to market as quickly as possible,” Sunnebo states.